Running Pace Converter

Running pace measures how long it takes to cover a unit of distance. Speed and pace are reciprocals of each other.

Conversion relationships:

• min/km → km/h: Speed (km/h) = 60 ÷ Pace (min/km)
• min/mile → mph: Speed (mph) = 60 ÷ Pace (min/mile)
• km/h → mph: Speed (mph) = km/h × 0.621371
• min/km → min/mile: Pace (min/mile) = Pace (min/km) × 1.609344 (exact, since a mile is defined as 1,609.344 m)

Common pace reference points:

• Easy jog: 7:00 min/km (11:16 min/mile, 8.6 km/h, 5.3 mph)
• Comfortable run: 6:00 min/km (9:39 min/mile, 10 km/h, 6.2 mph)
• Moderate effort: 5:00 min/km (8:03 min/mile, 12 km/h, 7.5 mph)
• 5K race effort: 4:00 min/km (6:26 min/mile, 15 km/h, 9.3 mph)
• Sub-4 hour marathon: 5:41 min/km (9:09 min/mile)
• Sub-3 hour marathon: 4:16 min/km (6:52 min/mile)
• Kelvin Kiptum’s 2:00:35 in Chicago, 2023: 2:51.5 min/km (4:36 min/mile)

That last one is written to the half-second on purpose. Rounding it to a flat 2:51 shortens the marathon by twenty seconds, which at that level is an eternity.

Why pace matters for training: Most running coaches prescribe workouts by pace rather than by heart rate or effort level because pace is objective and easy to measure with a GPS watch or phone app.

Pace zones for training:

• Recovery / Easy: 7:00-9:00 min/km, used after hard workouts to promote recovery
• Aerobic base: 5:30-7:00 min/km, the zone where most long runs should happen
• Threshold / Tempo: 4:30-5:30 min/km, comfortably hard, sustainable for 20-40 minutes
• VO2 max intervals: 3:45-4:30 min/km, hard effort sustained for 3-8 minutes at a time
• Sprint: under 3:00 min/km, maximum effort, usually 100-400 m repeats

Pace for different race distances: To estimate your finish time for a target pace, multiply the pace by the distance. The calculator does this for the four standard distances every time you enter a pace, including the halfway split, which is the number you actually want on race day. A 5:00 min/km pace over a 10K = 50 minutes exactly. A 5:00 min/km pace over a half marathon (21.0975 km) = 1 hour 45 minutes 29 seconds. The same pace over a marathon (42.195 km) = 3 hours 30 minutes 59 seconds.

Training paces from race results: If you have a recent race time, many coaches recommend running easy runs at 60-90 seconds per km slower than your 5K pace. If your 5K pace is 4:30 min/km, your easy run pace should be 5:30-6:00 min/km.

On writing pace down. Pace is one of the few everyday measurements still written in sexagesimal, and the mixed notation causes more confusion than it should. 5:30 per km is five and a half minutes. 5.30 per km, as a decimal, is five minutes and eighteen seconds, twelve seconds quicker. Over a marathon those two readings are more than eight minutes apart, which is the difference between a personal best and a bad day. The pace boxes here take either form, but only the colon form means what a runner means by it.